Agenda item

Councillor Lucinda Preston proposed a motion seeking the adoption of parental leave for elected members which she said would encourage more people to become councillors, increasing diversity and ensuring that the Council was more reflective of the city as a whole.

Councillor Laura McWilliams seconded the motion.

Councillor Strengiel supported the motion but questioned paragraph 3.1 of the proposed policy whereby members entitled to a Special Responsibility Allowance would continue to receive their allowance in full in the case of maternity, paternity, shared parental or adoption leave. He was of the opinion that the Special Responsibility Allowance should only be paid to the councillor undertaking the role for which the Special Responsibility Allowance was paid and that the member taking such leave should only retain their basic allowance.

Councillor Ron Hills questioned the date referred to in the policy from which a councillor ceased being a councillor should they not be re-elected following an election and thought that this depended on the date of the Council’s Annual General Meeting and Mayor Making. It was noted that the date of the Annual General Meeting and Mayor Making did not have any influence on the date in respect of this issue.

Councillor Preston, in respect of Councillor Strengiel’s comments regarding the Special Responsibility Allowance, disagreed with his suggestion and said that this aspect of the policy reflected parental leave principles of someone who was employed, undertaking a certain role at a certain rate of pay and not being disadvantaged as a result of taking parental leave.

It was proposed, seconded and RESOLVED

(1)       That the Council notes:

·         that analysis of the 2018 local election results by the Fawcett Society found that only 34% of Councillors in England were women, up 1% since 2017;

·         of the seats that were up for election in 2018, 28% went to women, up just 3% from 2014 when these seats were last contested;

·         as of summer 2017, only 4% of Councils in England and Wales had parental leave policies, according to research by the Fawcett Society;

·         that the role of a Councillor should be open to all, regardless of their background, and that introducing a parental leave policy was a step towards encouraging a wider range of people to become Councillors who may want to start a family to remain as Councillors;

·         that parental leave must apply to parents regardless of their gender and that it should also cover adoption leave to support these parents who chose to adopt;

·         the objective of the policy was to ensure that insofar as possible Members were able to take appropriate leave at the time of birth or adoption, that both parents were able to take leave and that reasonable and adequate arrangements were in place to provide cover for Portfolio Holders and others in receipt of Special Responsibility Allowances during any period of leave taken;

·         the policy set out Members’ entitlement to maternity, paternity, shared parental and adoption leave and relevant allowances.

(2)       That the Council approves:

·         the adoption of the Parental Leave Policy, as outlined in the Notice of Motion, giving all Councillors an entitlement to parental leave after giving birth or adopting;

·         that appropriate support was in place for Councillors with children and other caring commitments;

·         the Policy to include provision for leave periods, basic allowances, special responsibility allowances, resignation from office and elections, as set out in the Notice of Motion.